A stunning glass house café with breathtaking sea views designed by Kengo Kuma

By MOOK Scenic Spots Editorial Department, compiled and reported

In Akaohabu & Rose Garden in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, a new glass café named “Coeda House” with an unobstructed sea view has just opened. The café is surrounded by large floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and most of the interior materials are made of solid wood. With a 360-degree panoramic view, visitors can take in the world’s most beautiful garden scenery and the azure sea.

Coeda House was designed by the renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. In the center of the glass-walled structure, he employed his signature mortise-and-tenon technique to construct a pillar resembling a large tree as the main support. The beams are made from 1,500 pieces of Alaska yellow cedar, with trees over 800 years old, stacked in 49 layers that extend all the way to the ceiling, creating a highly unique visual effect. From a distance, it looks like a grand tree standing in the middle of Atami.

Akaohabu & Rose Garden has been rated as a world-class beautiful garden. Visitors can admire vast fields of roses in the garden and also relax at Coeda House Café, enjoying rich coffee and desserts while taking in the sea view.